Not
exactly hot on the heels of Mark of Kri, this sequel,
Rise of the Kasai, has been years in the making. It
has many of the same features as the original which
is a very good thing but it has some new elements
that aren't such a good thing. If some of these new
features had been done properly or left out entirely,
Rise of the Kasai would have been a much better game.

Team
play is the new feature in question as Rau's sister,
Tati, joins the adventure. Not only will you play
as Tati but there are other characters such as Griz
and Baumusu to control, although they are minor in
comparison to Tati who accompanies and co-ops with
Rau for most of the game. The two characters have
similar control systems but they have different weapons
and techniques. Each will take different paths in
the same levels but when they work together the results
are less than spectacular due to the faulty AI mechanics.

While
Rau is still the focus of the game and remains a very
playable character, we begin the game by learning
that he's dead. To find out what happened to him events
in this game take place 10 years before and 10 years
after the events in Mark of Kri. In the early years
we see a young and resilient warrior making his mark
in the world as he gains great respect for his talents
which combine might and magic. Many years later, Rau's
sister comes to his aid as she too has inherited the
legendary powers of her heritage, the Rakus. They
are the chosen ones that must confront the evil Kasai
from destroying their world.

Revealed
with beautiful, artsy, cutscenes the story is well
told. It gets to the points and doesn't waste time
with superfluous characters or conversations. The
voiceacting is great and compliments the visuals perfectly.
I have no complaints about the graphics or animation
other than the environments are a little barren and
some of the ground textures are low res. The levels
are absolutely huge, they seem to go on forever. I've
played games that didn't last as long as one level,
and there are 10 of them.

Blending
stealth and action, the balance of gameplay variation
should be duly noted. For the most part it's unpredictable
which is an essential gameplay element. You'll want
to sneak around and explore the areas as carefully
as you can to see what lies ahead. Kuzo is your spirit
guide in the form of a large black bird that you can
send ahead to scout out locations. Through the use
of your magic powers you are able to see through his
eyes to give you a bird's-eye-view of impeding dangers.

There
are many different ways to sneak up on guards. Some
of these situations are presented in the form of puzzles
as you have to find some way to get past them or silently
kill them. If they spot you they will blow their horns
and you'll be surrounded by scores of guards in no
time. By sweeping the analog stick in the direction
of the enemy it will lock-on to the closest ones and
assign a face button to them for you to mash. The
other guards will wait their turn as slice and dice
your way through the first wave. Combos are plentiful
and will put a quick end to your foes. All of the
playable character use the same basic control system
but will use different weapons and display different
animations. It keeps things simple but brings variety
to the gameplay.

Tati
has a unique stealth weapon in the form of poisonous
mushrooms. She can throw it at a specific location
or place it on a guard that will hopefully carry it
back to his lair where it will erupt as a deadly gaseous
cloud. While having these new characters to play around
with makes the game seem more interesting it's not
without some major drawbacks as some of your teammates
will just stop for no apparent reason. It's as though
they just can't go on. Other times they will betray
your cover when you're trying to sneak past some guards.
This is especially frustrating when you've worked
so hard to make so little progress. It doesn't happen
all of the time but enough to make it a concern.

Rise
of the Kasai would have been a great game if the co-op
system weren't so damn buggy. It's a good idea but
its execution is spotty.